


Jackie Porter - Origins

by tymewarps



Series: We All Start Nowhere [1]
Category: Video Blogging RPF, jacksepticeye - Fandom, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: AU where souls literally multiply at birth, Also I don't mind shipping but this is NOT a shipfic in any way, Also Jackie is born with super powers, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Backstory, But he enjoys helping the people, Chronic Pain, Depression, Descriptions of gore, Gen, He is technically not related to Sean but they see each other as brothers, Hurt/Comfort, I bet you can guess who that is :), I'm Bad At Tagging, Implied/Referenced Suicide, JSE AU, Jackie helps Sean out, Jackie is fighting crime so he can pay rent, Jackie's father is pee pee poo poo man :/, Memory Loss, Mild Gore, Not Septiplier, Not explained why in this but it will be later :), Origin Story, Possession, Sean is depressed, Souls, Suicidal Thoughts, They can manifest in different ways, They just doing what bros do, but it's rare, gore tw, hence only Sean Mark and Ethan having egos, how do i tag this lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:42:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24189091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tymewarps/pseuds/tymewarps
Summary: It was like looking at a lesser version of himself. Almost as if there were a merge in the universe's timeline, causing these two men to end up staring at each other in silence. If that was so, the only question left to ask was: "What went wrong?" Sean wished he had an answer.After all, it only made sense to start from the beginning.
Series: We All Start Nowhere [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1745809
Kudos: 13





	1. The Void and It's Captor

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first time posting on here, and quite honestly I've been stalling for too long. This is going to be one of the shorter stories of the bunch, since Jackie doesn't really have much canon lore nor is he my favorite. What trouble will these boys get into?

It was only a room; Just four walls, yet those walls were filled with secrets that bursted at the seams. 

He managed at first, keeping every inch of pain to himself in that room, but the walls were crumbling more each second. The air was damp with the wafting stench of plates holding molded food, odors that manifested in bedsheets, and the man that lay rigid on the ragged carpet. Sean's body was sprawled on that filth-covered floor as he allowed his thoughts to float. It wasn't like they mattered anymore. The man smelled wretched, as his chest was covered with a tank top drenched in sweat and loose shorts. When was the last time he changed? A chuckle escaped his chapped lips, realizing he almost took his life in this state.

He supposed if he _were_ to go out in a bloody haze, he should look at least a little bit presentable. That voice that pounded in his mind most likely would figure nobody cared, but he at least wanted his body to have some dignity after death. The man slowly crawled to his knees, still shaking from the feeling of a that sharp blade against his wrists. He didn't really think of himself as a screw-up, or a failure- hell, he had a career that most dreamed of -yet it felt like something in him needed him dead. It just... felt _right_. Something in him wanted out.

Sean stopped paying attention to his thoughts, as he was numb to them at that point. His eyes creaked open in an attempt to widen, but sleeping and not showering for days limited his movement quite a bit. He saw a milk carton in his hand. Why was that there again? Oh, he was fixing himself a bowl of cereal. When did that even happen? It felt like he was becoming a shadow to himself. Each movement so subtle, as he was lost in a void that called and cooed to him, could slip past him. One moment he was on the floor, and the next he was ravenously slurping up a bowl of stale Cheerios. His mind lagged behind his body so much that he wondered how much of his own consciousness was doing the actual work. 

Was there really someone else inside of him? Why did this thing so desperately want him out of control, but more importantly, why was Sean so willing? He was never suicidal, yet when that being inside of him had emerged so violently, he didn't put up much of a fight. He was just drifting endlessly now, becoming less aware of his own body each second.

Oh, he had patched up his wrists. That was nice. Sean didn't really care where the money for his food was coming from at this point, but he knew he certainly wasn't making enough YouTube content to pay for it normally. His only worry, and the only thing keeping his ownership of his body, was the possibility that his puppeteer might be harming someone in order to get said money. It had become increasingly hard to sense his surroundings; he was wrapped neatly in blurriness, and the internal slumber grew closer each day. Alas, Sean wanted to stay awake, even if the void kept calling and wailing its promises to him daily.

**"But why would you want to go back? You have nobody that would even care, right?"**

He hesitated. _Did_ he have anyone to care about? Vague voices and memories bubbled past him but they were too foggy to make out. "I suppose I did at one time..."

**"If they were important you would have remembered them. I need your body, Sean. Just come to the darkness, I promise to set your mind free,"** the entity pressed on in a firm tone.

"Soon. I just want to make sure, okay?"

There was no response.

He realized his body was back to his mess of a whiteboard. The writing seemed scribbled and manic, as the dusty clumps of gathered marker particles rested in the corners of the board. How much had he written? For the amount of these "shavings" it must have been a lot. A knife twirled in his hand, gleaming in the sunlight that peeked through bent metal window blinds. What was his captor planning on this board anyways?

His head shot up. Something must have happened. Maybe a noise? He moved his body to the destroyed kitchen sluggishly, wincing as he stepped in shards of glass. A window had broken, and there was another person in the room now. The other figure was covered in head to toe with red the color of a blood moon, which would have been frightening enough, yet the man also looked a lot like him. Sean was confused, was he looking in a mirror? If so, why was he dressed so fancy? He had to admit it was a good look-

"Who are you?" The man spoke in a notably less-groggy voice that Sean had become accustomed to in the past months.

That wasn't him talking. Panic started to spike in ways that his body couldn't handle. When did he start bleeding again? The man rushed towards him as the thick liquid dripped around his trembling body, but in a short second, all that remained was the eternal black of the void.


	2. A Familiar Feeling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sean regains control of himself. It's hard to get used to, but at least he has the strange red man to help him through it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting this chapter today as well, since it goes well with Chapter 1. (Adds a bittt more context.) Stay tuned for more!

It was a strange feeling- being able to move again. The pressure of being stuffed inside of his own mind was released so suddenly, but it wasn't painful. Whatever was in him was there, he could sense a tinge of it hiding in his mind, but it had given up control. He was confused as to why: it had dealt with threats before, and never retreated. Wait... what was that "threat" again?

Ocean blue eyes stared up at the plain ceiling as their sore body groaned and moaned. The red man moved in a swift blur as Sean twisted and turned in confusion.

"Hey hey buddy, take it easy there, 'aight?" The man had a tender voice, like his but healthier, which made sense.

Sean finally woke up. "Where am I? What happened? Where's the darkness?" Fear settled in, which was a feeling he wasn't used to anymore. The void usually took care of the stress for him, but he was alone. Sean was met with his own face,only it was groomed and slightly younger. The man's eyes sparkled chocolate brown in the now fully open blind's sunlight. When did it get so bright?

"Darkness? What do you mean?," the man stuttered, shaking his head and continuing, "Well, my name is Jackie. You were bleeding pretty bad. It was coming out of your eyes 'n everything. Spooky stuff." The man shuffled around some bottles on the table resting next to Sean.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I kind of have had the darkness taking control of me for a while."

"Huh?"

Sean wasn't sure how to explain it. How do you explain something that no other human had experienced before? "Yeah, I think there's something inside of me, and it wants me dead. It sorta tried to take over my body," he licked his desert of a lip, "I've been so distant from my own self."

Jackie just gave the man a heartbroken look, followed by his warm hand grasping Sean's. The hand was worn and callused, yet it still retained a gentle touch.  
"Well that's what I'd call depression buddy. I hoped you weren't trying to kill yourself in there but I saw your detailed plans on the whiteboard," he spoke, pointing in the direction of Sean's room, "But hey, I've been there. I've felt distant from myself before."

Sean was starting to realize how malnourished and feeble he had become. It was like his senses had all been cranked up to the highest setting. If that thing in him hadn't slit his throat he would have died eventually anyways. The pain crept up his spine as his bones felt one touch away from shattering.  
"Why are you helping me?" Sean questioned, stifling a cough.

"Well for one thing, you look exactly like me. I'm also basically a... superhero? I guess I usually do this kind of thing for money but it just felt like I needed to help you out."

Sean tried to get up, but the man pushed him down, explaining he needed to rest. His only option was to watch Jackie pace around, making phone calls for cleaners to come to the house while he also cleaned up some of the garbage himself. Why was this man helping him? More importantly, why did he feel so familiar? Was he a long lost twin? A clone? Sean's brain was too tired for questions. The pain was getting unbearable. He winced and gritted his teeth as his back arched, but the silence was broken by his deathly howls.

"Woah are you alright?!" Jackie ran over to help Sean who was screaming in pain.

"AH, NO!" he huffed, "I- it aches so much! Make it s- stop!" He didn't even realize tears were streaming down his oily, unhygienic face. Was the void not taking care of his body as promised?

"I gave you medicine, and all your wounds are bandaged," the man in red mumbled, unsure of what to do, "Do you have a heating pad?"

"M- maybe? OW! Check the upstairs closet, and grab my phone too please."

The man didn't reply, and simply zoomed up the stairs. The sound of steps came down the stairs soon enough and Jackie returned with both items, giving Sean his phone as he popped the pad in the microwave. Sean decided it would be best to check his phone later. It almost felt unnatural holding it after so long. Jackie returned to Sean's aid and pressed the pad against his back, which seemed to be the most sensitive spot. The Irish man immediately released the tension in his body, shaking slightly as he did so.

"Thank y- you..." The man hummed, fluttering his eyes closed, "I'm just not used to feeling pain."

"No problem; anything else I can get you?"

"I haven't talked to a person in so long. I haven't felt anyone in so long," Sean cringed as the words flowed out of him, "C-could you give me a hug?" He wanted to punch himself for his stupidity. He wasn't trying to hit on the man, he just genuinely was in need of someone, but his idiocy in asking this stranger (who had already helped him more than he needed to) angered him. He started to stutter in hopes of being able to take back his words, but Jackie stopped him.

"Of course. I understand man, seriously don't worry about it. I think we were meant to find each other," The man with bright, youthful eyes pulled himself onto the rickety couch and wrapped Sean in a close hug. Sean was surprised, to say the least, as the man was basically being a big spoon for him without much hesitation. "I think this might have been fate, as silly as that sounds."

Sean didn't know what to say, yet he desperately tried to get words out. He rambled on, "Why are you so nice to me? Like, are you my brother? You feel like my brother-"

The man just gripped him harder as he ruffled his hair.

"I was you once. I was stuck in my home, depressed and unaware of my self-destruction. I'm not sure if we are brothers or what, but I know we needed to find each other," the man displayed a warm smile, strangely confident in his words, "but if you want to be my brother, I'd like that."

Sean just leaned into the man's crimson fabric, finally allowing himself to sob his heart out. He was free from the void.


	3. Soul Searching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jackie wouldn't normally act so close to a man he just met, but in reality he hadn't "just met" Sean. He knew many things about Sean's existance before, it just took a while to finally find him.

When you have been searching so desperately for something over a span of years, miraculously finding it can take a while to process. Jackie knew about the rumors of "shattered souls" and folklore dating back centuries; that's what led him to studying it. The man had always felt a bit displaced, both in the physical world and in his own mind. Almost as if he were a piece of something larger. Others would laugh him off as being delusional, chuckling as they discussed his 'enormous ego.' _Ego_. That word always sent a chill down the spine of Jackie, and he could never place why.

He knew why now.

The Irish man had been out on one of his daily patrols at the time, strolling down the alleyways of the bustling city he called home when his phone buzzed. He whipped out the phone, as usual it was a text from an unknown number with an address and a plea for help. Jackie had always loved helping those in need, not only because he saw his judged child self in the many people he saved, but it was also in his blood. Jackie's father, now retired, was a firefighter, and even though his relationship with said father was less than desirable, he still always admired the man's bravery.

He took off, using his abnormal powers to move faster towards the destination when he spotted it; a woman in the middle of the street slamming a metal bat into a lump of... something. She seemed manic as she rammed the bat repeatedly and haphazardly against the screaming body. Jackie sprinted to the woman's side, now taking note of the other two people standing close by begging her to stop. With one roundhouse kick, the lady was snatched away from her victim. That didn't stop her though, as she flung the bat towards Jackie's head, missing as he swiftly ducked.

 **CRASH!** Uh-oh, that sounded like a window. He winced, realizing he would have to pay for that damage, but continued to get the woman to the ground and in handcuffs. The ambulance arrived just then, and after an exchange of money, thank you's and hugs, Jackie went to lean in the window, hoping the resident wasn't too angered. The only reason he had this job was because of how unreliable (and frankly terrible) the actual local police were at their job. He was eternally grateful for many things; the citizen's support, his inhuman strength he had gained at birth, and the money from the job, which usually gave him enough to pay rent. Jackie never went to college, and didn't have much talent for anything else that would give him considerable income, so being the town's crime fighter was his only hope.

Glancing at the smashed window bits that were still cracking and crumbling, he stuck his head in to the surprise of seeing nobody there. In fact, what he did see gave him even more of a shock. Pill bottles were scrambled along this person's living room floor, and the kitchen in the back had remnants of food, among other miscellaneous items strewn about. Stains of unknown substances covered almost every inch of the house. All of the lights were off except for one dingy lamp-shadeless light that was flickering rapidly. Normally, this would have been mistaken as a typical crack house, but the city that Jackie had patrolled that day was fairly up-kept and for the richer folks. What the hell was going on in this home?

Jackie's curiosity got the best of him, and with little thought of consequences stumbled his way through the window to look around. The silence was unsettling to say the least. Jackie took a sharp inhale as his boots crinkled some small shards of glass and a potato-chip bag. It smelled rancid in this home.

Then, the click of a door, followed by footsteps from the hall next to him. The man froze in fear, staring ahead at the darkness waiting for someone to come out. A strange figure in shrouded in black waddled his way through the hall like a corpse. His arms were dressed in bloody bandages (with the rest of him being covered in small cuts and bruises) and looked like he could pass out any second. He could have sworn the man's eyes were glowing a neon green, but as the figure came closer, Jackie turned to notice everything else on this man's face. The man was now fully in the light, slumped over slightly and grinning with wide eyes at the hero, knife in hand.

The man's face looked identical to his, spare the piercing black eyes with blindingly light green irises.

"W- who _are you_?" he whispered in shock.

Jackie's jaw dropped with a quiet gasp as the man's face turned from a shit-eating grin, to confusion, and now fear as his eyes began to bleed uncontrollably. The man whimpered in pain as he collapsed to a heap on the floor, his striking eyes fading to white and blue. Jackie knew he was special. He knew he had strange powers, and that he had to have had other shards of his soul out there that did too, but he certainly didn't expect his shard to be something as supernatural as what he had just seen.

After not moving for a moment, he shook himself out of his worried thoughts and realized he had to help the look-alike. He huffed out a long sigh, pulling the thin body over his shoulder as he made a b-line to the couch. This was going to be a long day.


	4. His Journal and a Ghost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's lots of messages awaiting Sean on his phone. How will he respond?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAA I'm so sorry this took forever to get out! I didn't mean to wait this long, yikes. The next and final chapter will be posted this night, and it will lead into the next story :)

Sean's dulled eyes stared at the greasy, cracked screen close to his face as he lay in pain. Jackie was sitting next to him on the couch, sipping on water from time to time as Sean fumbled through his phone. He probably had over 1 million notifications- he was famous after all -and many of them were from his friends in concern. Most of his loved ones and friends lived far away, but it was still odd that none of them had made their way to the isolated man in the past month.

He stared in a state of gut-wrenching guilt at his texts.

 **Mark:** Hey Sean, just checking in. People are pretty worried about you, and you haven't been uploading or contacting anyone recently. I hope you're doing alright, please call me soon!

 **Mark:** Sean? Please man, if you're not okay Ethan and I can fly over there... 

**Mark:** We went to your house with the police. I don't even fucking know why I'm talking to a dead man anymore. The place was just horrible to look at, and that note you left just showed how much pain you were in. Why couldn't I see the signs? I still have hope for you, I mean they said they couldn't find your body in the woods like the note said you would be... They're cleaning your home in a week from now.

 **Mark:** I'm sorry.

 _Fuck_. That bastard void _lied_ to him. He couldn't even bear to looks at the texts from his other friends.

"I don't understand, I don't remember leaving my house, but everyone says I left a suicide note," he swallowed, "How am I gonna fix this? What the hell did the void do to me?"

"You keep talking about this void, what exactly do you mean?" Jackie placed a warm touch on Sean's aching shoulder.

"I remember one day, after feeling like shit for so long, I was cured. Like I was mentally perfect all of a sudden. But the more as time went on, there was this other part of me that was angry. It said I abandoned it." Sean didn't know how to admit that he never got help for the voices. "I tried reasoning with it, but the more I let my guard down, the more it took control of my body. There would be big gaps in my memory until I fought enough to gain control again. By the time you found me I was just floating endlessly in a black void for God knows how long."

Jackie stared at Sean, scratching behind his own ear as his brow furrowed in thought. "It's not crazy. I have no reason to doubt the supernatural considering I study it in my off time. I was born with super-strength after all. Maybe your depression became it's own entity?"

Sean simply nodded, too tired to bother questioning that 'super-strength' part.

"You started bleeding from the eyes as it 'lost control,' so it must have been scared of me for some reason. I guess it was hiding from people when it was in control and you just don't remember."

"I have vague visions of what it was doing throughout each day. It kept trying to bleed itself out- or well, I suppose bleed _me_ out. It had those plans on the whiteboard that you saw, I think."

A calm passed over the two men as sunlight drifted through the cracks of the busted window. Glass bits still clung to the frame by their tendrils, any small breeze knocking them down with a quiet clatter. The horrid smells of mold, blood and unknown substances (Jackie wasn't sure if he wanted to know what they were) were slowly filtering out of the opening, bringing fresh air into the stuffy home. The sun was beginning to set, leaving the room in a stunning spectrum of reds and purples.

Sean was littered with scabs, bruises, and gashes that Jackie tried his best to treat. Normally he would hand off injured victims to the hospital professionals, but he was on his own for this one. Under a matted, woolly blanket, Sean groaned in frustration.

"You in pain?"

"Nah, I just don't know how to tell people I'm not dead."

"I'd put that on your list of 'Things I thought I would never say' list," The superhero chuckled, "Maybe tell your folks to come over here. There's no real sense in hiding me from them anyways."

 **Sean:** Hi. I'm okay, I'm at my home. Can't really explain what happened, but please come over as soon as you can with Ethan and the other guys. But you can't bring anyone else or let anyone know what you're doing. I don't want the police here just yet.

Sean was surprised at Mark's almost immediate reply.

 **Mark:** what.

 **Mark:** This isn't real, whoever you are that got his number just needs to fuck off. You're sick.

 **Sean:** Mark I'm serious, it's me. This guy found me passed out and helped me. Look, I'll send a pic

Sean leaned over the the man's side, brushing his hand across his back to his shoulder. He held out the half-broken machine and smiled for a picture. Jackie plastered on a worried smile.

"Sorry, just needed a pic to prove I'm real," he laughed as he sent the picture.

 **Mark:** Holy shit, is it really you? You're not fucking with me?

 **Sean:** Yes it's me, now please get your guy's asses over here soon.

 **Mark:** ok

Sean could practically feel the sweat dripping off of Mark as he sent his texts extremely fast, typos and all. The man's nerves were etched into his words across the screen. Sean took a deep sigh, plopping his phone onto his bag of bones that was his body.

"Thank you. Whatever fate brought us together sure knows what it's doing."

Jackie's smile trembled up as blush crept over his cheeks. Sure, he was used to getting 'thank you's often, but they just blended together in a blob of emotionless phrases over time. But, this felt so different; so genuine. Almost like two puzzle pieces connecting together.

"No problem buddy."

However, the puzzle had many more pieces to connect in the future.


	5. Skeletons in my Living Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jackie and Sean have some very concerned visitors, and some explaining to do, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GAHHHH I'm so sorry I never meant to post this late!!!! I'm not doing too well in the light of everything going on in the U.S. right now, and it's been hard to write. But I promised this one way or another, and here it is! Hm... I wonder whose story will be written next...
> 
> Only time shall tell!

**_Click_**.

The door to Sean's home was swung open by Jackie as multiple people rushed inside. A man with brown- almost black -fluffed up hair and tan skin immediately took a step past the door frame, gasping as he saw the superhero (No longer in super-attire, instead opting to change into his extra tee and jeans.) There were multiple shadows of others behind him, all displaying a worried expression.

"Oh my god! Sean!" the man hollered in a bittersweet tone as he grasped Jackie in a tight hug. Jackie let out a squeak in response to the surprising force the other man possessed.

"I'm Jackie, _Sean's_ on the couch."

The man pulled out of the hug with confusion plastered against his face, as he questioned, "What do you mean? You look like Sean."

Jackie shrugged, "Yeah I know, it's weird. Might just be coincidence," he lied. Sean had provided some more details over text as his friends were flying over from America, but Jackie wasn't sure exactly how much he had told the man. "What's you name again?"

"Oh, it's Mark, can I see him?" Two more people walked in, revealing them to be a smaller brunette man, and a tall man with curly hair. "This is Ethan, and this is Tyler." Ethan gave a weak smile as he waved.

"Of course, but he's not in the best mental state right now," the hero explained, "and he's in a lot of pain, so just be gentle to 'em." He led the men past the entryway and into the living area where Sean was. He was slumped on the dirty couch, a thin blanket covering his now tiny frame. The true physical effects of what the void had done to him had surfaced overnight, causing the Irishman to become even more fragile. With a lack of anything but basic Ibuprofen, the pain was numbingly aggressive. It pulsed along each and every injury.

"Oh my god, he's shaking like a leaf," Tyler gasped as Mark kneeled down to the carpet next to him. Ethan just stared in awe.

"Sean, holy shit it's really y- you." Mark held back tears. Just a few weeks ago he had been informed that the man sitting in front of him was dead and gone. It was surreal to see the man taking shallow breaths as his head dipped up to face him; his eyes dull and lifeless, yet still containing a small spark of something inside.

There were so many cuts. Sean was shirtless, so when the blanket shimmied off his shoulders, his scars were exposed. He was so tired that he hadn't bothered to even look at himself beforehand, so he wasn't even aware of what the cuts that had been causing the excruciating pain had even looked like.

Ethan started crying as Tyler pat his back, an unreadable expression etched on his face. Jackie padded forward a few steps before speaking.

"I tried my best to heal his wounds. Once I had peeled his shirt off it was... j- just, be glad you didn't see him then," he shuddered.

It was like a minefield, covered in blisters, bruises, and obvious fist marks from whatever unconscious brawls the man had gotten into in the past month. The worst however, were the wounds that had already been sewn up. It was an amateur, zigzag pattern of stitching that wrapped around limbs and across his chest. There were a few stabs in his torso and hundreds of gnarled bits of flesh that littered his arms, some with pus and blood coating the tops. There seemingly wasn't a place where Sean hadn't self-harmed.

"Hey," Sean grinned weakly as he trembled in a fit of small coughs.

"I- Sean w- why would you..." Mark's face was drenched in a feeling of grief now that he was actually facing the man in this state. He lowered his head into Sean's lap as he reached up to grasp his chilling hands. The warmth flooded Sean immediately, filling him with a comforting feeling. He missed touching people, holding hands, and of course cuddling. He used to cuddle with his friends all the time, as they were all open to being close as they watched movies together in the moonlit living room. All that filled this room now was the hot air and tears of a man clinging between life and death.

"I'm sorry," he said, barely audible. "Please don't cry Mark," he pulled Mark's sobbing mess of a face up by his chin and stared into the man's broken expression. "I'm back, I'm sorry I was gone for so long, but I'm here."

Mark pushed himself up, mumbling apologies as he dusted himself off. He plopped down onto the empty space beside him and rubbed his fingers through his hair as he thumbed his temples a few times. Ethan wiped a tear as came forward next, deciding to squirm his way onto the coffee table in front of Sean. Tyler accompanied him next to the table, standing with shaky knees.

Jackie crouched where Mark had previously been, speaking up as the others were lost for words, "He says he barely remembers the past month or so, and that there was an 'entity' that would talk to him as he dissociated."

"The void," Sean spit in anger in reference to his captor "It wanted control; it wanted me to give in. I tried not to but whenever I let go, I felt so calm. Everything would go black, and I'd just float endlessly. I used to trust it. The void tried to bleed me out any chance it got, but I always regained control before it was too late. I could barely even feel the knife when it cut into me." Sean licked his lips mindlessly as he explained.

"That's um... Not what I was expecting," Ethan stuttered, looking to Tyler with concern.

"Buddy, I don't think you got possessed or something. Are you sure that's what it felt like?" Mark asked innocently.

"I was. You can ask Jackie. I had green eyes and sharp teeth. If that's not enough proof, I also passed out and bled from my eyes. I'm pretty fucking sure," he growled the last part.

Mark raised his hands, "Woah hey, I didn't mean anything by it." Silence crept over for a few seconds before Tyler finally spoke.

"So you really don't remember anything? Not even the note?"

Jackie replied for him, noticing the energy in Sean being drained after each passing moment, "Yeah, says he has no clue about the note at all. I'm assumin' the police took it for investigation?" They nodded in response.

The hero turned to see Sean nodding off into sleep, drool seeping from his parted lips as he fell onto Mark's side. Mark flinched slightly before moving the man to a more comfortable position and wrapping his blanket around him.

"He's just so thin, and he probably feels terrible. It looks like the life was sucked out of him," Ethan gulped, "How exactly did you find him?"

Jackie retold the story to the group of friends, explaining the state of the home, the possession, and the strange 'coincidence' about it all. Many reactions and questions were littered throughout the conversation as they learned who Jackie truly was. He detailed his job and endeavors, which impressed the three men to say the least. Mark had an uneasy feeling about it all, but Ethan reassured him that there was no reason for Jackie to lie about anything. He cringed slightly- Jackie wasn't a fan of lying -but if he wanted these people to trust him, he couldn't start spouting out facts about witchcraft and souls being 'shattered'.

"And yeah, the reason everyone was so worried is because of the YouTube channel," Tyler interjected, snapping Jackie out of his thoughts, "He has tons of fans that probably realized before we did."

Silence, again. Jackie hated the awkward pauses. He never was a great socializer to begin with.

"We should 'probly get him to a hospital," he blurted, "You know, because of the bad stitching from before I found 'em. It looks infected."

"Yeah, we can get him in our rental," Tyler said, "It has enough room for him to lay down. Do you have a car or do you wanna come in ours?"

Jackie blushed in embarrassment, "U- uh, well I actually don't own a car," he stopped himself before saying anything stupid, like 'I'm too poor' or 'I use my unexplainable superhuman strength to run across buildings at extreme speeds so I conveniently don't need one anyways.' He sighed slightly.

"Oh no problem, come along with us," Mark said sweetly, "And sorry to ask- what's your name again?"

Jackie stared up at the man, overfilled with a sense of pride. He hadn't even said anything mean about not owning a car. _Nobody_ was that kind before. It was so unexpected, but he didn't stumble over his words one bit.

"Jackie Porter; that's my name."


End file.
